The Proto-Illyrians

Through the Bronze and Iron Ages, the Glasinac-Mat complex spread its stone burial mounds across the western Balkan highlands, from Bosnia down through Albania: tumulus-building chiefdoms that many archaeologists link to the emergence of the historical Illyrians. These genomes come from its mounds at Çinamak and Shkrel in northern Albania: warriors and herders of the Drin valley whose ancestry runs, remarkably unbroken, into the later peoples of the region.

The genome-wide data behind this entry was published in Ancient DNA evidence for the history of the Albanians.

Every Ancestry Map includes the free Notable Matches lens: your coordinates are compared to every sequenced member of every catalog entry, and the distance to the closest member is reported, a Euclidean distance in the same 25-dimensional space the Distance lens uses. Because these are a small group of real individuals, not a population average, distances naturally run larger than population distances. That is expected, not a poor result. And one thing is never claimed: a small distance means similar ancestry composition, not that the Proto-Illyrians are your ancestor. See how it looks in the live demo or read about Ancestry Map, the full Global25 report.

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  Who were the Proto-Illyrians?

  The Proto-Illyrians (c. 2600-300 BCE, Kukës, Albania) are one of the Iconic discoveries entries in our Notable Matches catalog, represented by 9 sequenced ancient genomes published in the study "Ancient DNA evidence for the history of the Albanians".

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  What does "matching" the Proto-Illyrians mean?

  Your Global25 coordinates are compared to the entry's sequenced members and the distance to the closest one is reported, a Euclidean distance in the same 25-dimensional reference space the Distance lens uses. A notable entry is one person or one small burial group, not a population average, so distances naturally run larger than population distances.

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  Are they my ancestor?

  No, and no DNA test can show that. A small distance means your genome sits near theirs in a shared reference space: similar ancestry composition, not descent. Ancestrify never claims a notable individual is your ancestor or relative.

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  How do I see my own distance to the Proto-Illyrians?

  Notable Matches is a free lens on every Ancestry Map, never sold separately. Order Ancestry Map, our Global25 analysis (29.99 EUR), and your report ranks your coordinates against the full catalog, with a portrait, dossier and map for every entry. The public demo shows the lens with example data.

The catalog holds every published entry across three tiers. Browse the full Notable Matches directory. Nearby entries:

• The Mycenaeans of Tirynsc. 1400-1050 BCE

• The Bronze Age Epirotes of Ammotoposc. 1275-1125 BCE

• The Nuragic Sardiniansc. 1300-1050 BCE

• The Palace of Nestor Burialsc. 1350-1000 BCE

• The Philistines of Ashkelonc. 1200-600 BCE

• The Iron Age People of the Swat Valleyc. 1400-800 BCE

• The Bronze Age Armenians of Lchashenc. 1450-1200 BCE

• The Urnfield People of Central Europec. 1300-800 BCE

• The Tombs of Aidoniac. 1600-1200 BCE

• The Trzciniec Culturec. 1650-1250 BCE

• The Lapita Voyagers of Teoumac. 950 BCE

• The Illyrians of Montenegroc. 1600-300 BCE